This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Advances in the petroleum industry have allowed access to oil and gas drilling locations and reservoirs that were previously inaccessible due to technological limitations. For example, technological advances have allowed drilling of offshore wells at increasing water depths and in increasingly harsh environments, permitting oil and gas resource owners to successfully drill for otherwise inaccessible energy resources. To drill for oil and gas offshore, it is desirable to have stable offshore platforms and/or floating vessels from which to drill and recover the energy resources. Techniques to stabilize the offshore platforms and floating vessels include, for example, the use of mooring systems and/or dynamic positioning systems. However, these systems may not always adequately stabilize components descending from the offshore platforms and floating vessels to the seafloor wellhead.
For example, a riser string (e.g., a tubular or series of tubulars that connects the offshore platforms or floating vessels to the floor of the sea) may be used to transport drill pipe, casing, drilling mud, production materials or hydrocarbons between the offshore platform or floating vessel and a wellhead. The riser string, or riser, is suspended between the offshore platform or floating vessel and the wellhead, and may experience forces, such as underwater currents, that cause deflection (e.g., bending or movement) in the riser. Acceptable deflection can be measured by the deflection along the riser, and also at, for example, select points along the riser. These points may be located, for example, at or near the offshore platform or floating vessel and/or at or near the wellhead. If the deflection resulting from underwater current is too great, deployment and/or retrieval of the riser must cease and the wellhead may not be accessible due to such technological constraints. Additionally, movement (e.g., installation, removal, maintenance) of the riser may be delayed so that a minimum distance between the riser and other subsea structures may be maintained, thereby increasing costs. Moreover, installation of the riser may be prohibited at some locations due to the subsea environment (e.g., current), existing subsea structures, and an appropriate minimum operating distance from the existing subsea structures. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide techniques to stabilize riser deployment and/or retrieval in offshore drilling and energy resource recovery environments.